Child
by Mika Nakane
Summary: Naruto is a horrible father in the future. He cares for Nina, but his immaturity causes him to focus on Konoha more. Her mother really isn't making it much better. That combined with how Nina is abandoned by her friends when she needs them, makes Nina steal a scroll and return to the past. While the ninja can't change the future, they can give Nina the courage to face reality again
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I had a random thought of this. There are a few fanfics I've read about the next generation, but this plot is slightly different.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Nina.**

Child

"Finally, I'm out of the hospital! I've been there forever!" Naruto claimed, and stretched his arms out as him, Sakura, Team Asuma, and a few other chunin walked out of the hospital. "You've been there for a week, Naruto." Ino informed, and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's Sai!" Naruto exclaimed, and pointed in front of them. "Why are you here?"

Sai looked up at him. "Well, Naruto, I was just-"

"More importantly, who's that by your arm? She's really cute!" Sakura asked, looking at the small blonde girl attached to Sai's arm. Sai opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it since he really didn't know.

"What's your name?" Ino asked, bending down to her level and smiling at the girl. Everyone else also stared expectantly at the girl, wondering who she was. Instead of answering, she slowly hid behind Sai, poking her head out a little to watch them. "Um, I think she's scared..." Hinata voiced. Sakura seemed to consider this. "Guys, stop staring at her!" she ordered. The chunin shifted their gazes slightly so they didn't appear intimidating to the child.

Slowly, she emerged from behind Sai, seeming deciding to trust them. "I'm Nina Uzumaki!" she exclaimed brightly. The chunin froze.

"Naruto... you didn't... right?" Choji questioned. "No, I didn't do anything!" Naruto responded quickly, understanding what he was suggesting. Shikamaru looked thoughtful. "Are you sure that you don't have any siblings?" he asked. Naruto frowned. "Yeah, I'm sure!". "Then where..."

They looked back at the girl. "Wait, what's your name?" she asked with a confused voice. "Naruto Uzumaki. We have the same last name, so they think we're related." he explained. "'tou-san!" she said, and hugged the boy tightly. The chunin glared at Naruto, unconvinced.

"What- I swear, I don't have a kid!" he protested. "Then explain why-" Sakura was cut off as Nina began to talk again.

"You never showed me pictures of how you looked as a kid! You told me that you looked cool, but you look weird." she said, pouting. "Hey, I don't look weird! And I've never met you before!" Naruto complained.

She looked up at Sai. "Ne, Sai-sensei, where's Kaa-san?" she asked curiously. Sai sweatdropped a little, unsure of anything. "Um, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about..." he started.

"Oh yeah, I forgot! Sorry, I came back to the past, and forgot that you wouldn't recognize me. I'm Nina Uzumaki, daughter of Naruto Uzumaki and..." she looked at the chunin thoughtfully. "I'll leave it at that. Sai-sensei's my art teacher, and he said I was his favourite student!" she said happily, and removed her arms from Naruto to latch onto Sai once again.

"From... the future?" Tenten asked, blinking. They seemed relieved, but Naruto pushed further.

"Daughter of me and _who?_ I've gotta know!" he said, and stared at the girl with newfound interest. She cowered and hid behind Sakura this time. "Sakura-san!" she wailed, and clutched her arm.

"Naruto! Be nicer to your daughter!" Sakura scolded, and Naruto laughed nervously.

"How old are you right now, and how many years did you travel back in time?" Shikamaru asked. "Oh! That's genius, then we can find out when she's born!" Sakura realized, and covered her mouth as everyone glared at her.

"I wasn't going to tell you that anyway!" Nina scoffed, "But I'm 9, if it's important."

"Well, how did you travel back in time anyway? Can you reverse it?" Tenten questioned. Nina looked down at her feet. "I used... a forbidden scroll. I can reverse it whenever I want, but I don't want to go back to the future!" her lip started wobbling, and in moments she was crying against Sakura's chest.

"A forbidden scroll? Do you know how dangerous that is?" Naruto shouted. "Not like you can talk. You stole a forbidden scroll when you were younger, remember? Although, I agree. You shouldn't have done that." Shikamaru said. Nina stopped crying for a moment, looking back at the ninjas sadly.

"I don't like the future! It's good, but I hate it! The only ones I could trust were Sai-sensei and Sasuke-san! You and Kaa-san never cared for me!" she shouted accusingly. Everyone sighed. "Alright, I guess it's fine as long as you can still go back." Naruto decided, and tousled her hair softly.

* * *

"Ne, Nina-chan, you mentioned Sasuke, didn't you?" Ino said. Immediately, the others perked up. "That's right, you did! Does Sasuke return to us in the future?" Sakura asked. Nina nodded.

"Sasuke-san does come back. Or more like, he left? When did he leave, and where is he now?" she questioned with an innocent look on her face. Naruto and Sakura sighed at the difficult topic.

"Sasuke-san has gone somewhere for a while, okay? If what you said is true and he comes back, then he probably returns before you're born." Sakura explained in a kind voice. They all were visibly happier, knowing that the Uchiha would return eventually. "So, where are you staying for tonight?" Shikamaru asked. "Yeah, that's a good question. Normally, I would say that you should stay with Naruto, but I don't think anyone trusts him with taking care of a child right now- his room is really messy! Is there anywhere you're familiar with?" Sakura asked, ignoring Naruto's complaints of "I can take care of a child just fine!".

Nina looked thoughtful. "In the future, 'tou-san moves into a different place with 'kaa-san, but it's not made yet. I usually stayed with Sasuke-san when my parents were on a mission, but you said that Sasuke-san is gone for a while. So, I think I'll stay with Sai-sensei. I'm really familiar with his place, since I went there almost every day for art lessons." she replied. Sai sweatdropped as the child was entrusted to him. "My apartment is dangerous, though." Sai responded.

"I know, we were attacked once. But, you taught me a basic jutsu in case that happened. See?" Nina pulled a scroll, brush, and ink from her back, and drew a dragon. "Super Beast Imitation." she muttered, and a dragon emerged from the scroll. The other ninjas stared, impressed, until they got a closer look and realized that the dragon had no idea who to attack because she had forgotten to draw eyes. "Whoops..." she said, wincing as the dragon smashed into a tree and ink splattered everywhere. Sai sighed (**A/N haha, I had to use that**). "Draw the eyes before you draw the scales, that way the brush can move quickly without having to move across the paper for every feature." he explained, and Nina nodded intently.

"Well, that may not be my best defense, since I'm still practicing it. But, I can do other things!" she protested. Taking a deep breath, she blew out fire while whispering "Fireball jutsu!". A stream of fire came out and burned the terrain before them.

"Woah! Isn't that an Uchiha technique?" Ino remarked. Nina smiled sadly. "It is. Sasuke-san taught it to me. After all, I probably spent more time with him than 'kaa-san and 'tou-san." she said.

Sakura glared. "You must have been a horrible father, Naruto! Well, anyway, at least you can defend yourself against any attacks. Meaning, you can stay with Sai. Sai, you'd better be nice to her."

Uncertainly, Sai nodded, and the chunin separated paths to head home for the day.

* * *

"Wow, this is beautiful!" Nina said, admiring a painting. Sai smiled, almost fondly, as Nina ran around his apartment, finally stopping at the window.

"The view is beautiful...I want to try drawing it!" she exclaimed. Sai nodded. He began to move the easel to face the window, and got out paintbrushes and paint. "Please don't make a mess." Sai said worriedly. Nina grinned. "Of course I won't!"

Over the next 2 hours, Sai guided Nina through drawing the scenery. He offered advice on which colors to mix to make the perfect shade, and taught her how to blend colors to make the sunset. When they were finally finished the artwork, it was midnight. Sai slowly moved his hand to pat Nina's head, saying "Good job, it's very well done."

Sastified, Nina yawned. They ate a quick dinner of ramen before Sai allowed Nina to take the bed. When she tugged at his sleeve to stay, he laid down next to her, waiting for her to fall asleep in the same manner that a parent would wait for their child.

_This is much better than the future!_, Nina thought, _I never want to return there. I want to stay here where 'tou-san and 'kaa-san are still nice. It'd be even better if Sasuke-san was here too, but I guess I can't have everything._

**A/N If you're really picky, you would have noticed that you can't spend 2 hours drawing a sunset- it would vanish. So, please ignore that and all the other little things that don't really make sense.** **I intend on continuing this, so please review to let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N This chapter has a MAJOR spoiler if you haven't watched up to about episode 100 of Naruto Shippuden. Well, okay, not a major one. It just hints at it.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto!**

Chapter 2

Nina woke up, rubbing her eyes as she realized she was clutching Sai's arm. She let go and slid out of the bed before brushing and heading to the kitchen.

Then she realized that she didn't know how to cook and went back to the bedroom to wake Sai up. She gently shook her art teacher and he opened his eyes, alert, in a moment. "Nina?" he wondered as he began to remember what happened the previous day. "Oh, right. I assume you want me to make us breakfast now?" Nina nodded, slightly embarrassed since her mother had always made it for her in the future.

He sat up and prepared himself before walking into the kitchen. Nina, bored studied Sai's paintings while the ninja made pancakes for the two. Suddenly, she noticed a picture book in the corner.

"You have the exact same book in the future, but you never let me look at it then," she said, pouting, "can I see it now?". Sai nodded reluctantly, and Nina started to flip through the book. She looked at it for several minutes, staring at each page carefully before finally making it to the center of the book. The sight of the two hand-in-hand made her smile, and she closed the book and placed it back on its place on the shelf.

"It's pretty." she remarked simply, and joined Sai at the table.

* * *

"-And that's basically it. It's quite easy-" Tsunade stopped and instantly regretted saying that.

"If it's easy, then why are we doing it? I want to do a harder mission!" Naruto complained. Sakura smacked him on the head and apologized to Tsunade. There was a knock on the door.

"Oh, it's Sai. Come in!" Tsunade said with her voice raised slightly. The door opened, revealing Sai with a little blonde haired girl holding his hand. Tsunade raised her eyebrows at this. "Who's the girl?"

"We forgot to tell you! Tsunade-sama, this is Naruto's child from the future. Her name is Nina Uzumaki." Sakura informed. "Why is she here? We're about to be sent on a hard mission- or at least a mission that should be hard!" Naruto complained. Sai sweatdropped. "I couldn't just leave her at my apartment, so I brought her with me." he explained.

"Hold on! Naruto's _child_? From the _future_?" Tsunade questioned, clearly in disbelief.

"...Tsunade-san is the hokage? Oh right, I remember 'tou-san telling me about that! Good morning, Tsunade-san! I'm Nina Uzumaki, and yes, I'm from the future. I used a forbidden scroll." Even after repeating it already, she still winced at saying that last part.

"...when are you born?" Kakashi questioned. Nina narrowed her eyes. "I'm not falling for that! I'm nine, though. Or... wait... Kakashi-san?! You look a bit younger!" Nina exclaimed, and hugged the jonin happily. "Though you still have white hair! I thought that was only because you were old." she frowned. Kakashi laughed nervously. "Um, hello... Nina, was it? Yes, I have white hair. I always have." he replied.

Nina grinned. "Oh, I remember about you all! 'Tou-san told me about it! You're Team 7, right? Although, I thought the 3rd member was Sasuke-san. I guess since he's gone somewhere, Sai-sensei is replacing him? ". "Yeah, that's basically it." Sakura nodded.

"Anyway, it's nice meeting you and all, but this mission is quite urgent. While you may be Naruto's daughter, I can't allow you to accompany them. Is there anyone you can stay with?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah! I'll just stay with Ino-san and Haru-sensei Oh wait, Haru-sensei isn't born yet, never mind. But I'll be fine. I wish I could go on your next mission, though!" she replied with a smile.

As Team 7 and Sai headed out on their mission in Suna, Nina decided to go to the ninjas she had met yesterday.

* * *

"Ino-san!" Nina called as she ran up to her, nearly out of breath. "Oh, Nina! Where's Naruto? Don't tell me he abandoned you already..." Ino trailed off with fire in her eyes.

"No, not at all! Well, at least I hope not. 'Tou-san, Sakura-san, Sai-sensei, and Kakashi-san went on a mission! So, can I stay with you today?" Nina asked cheerfully. "Yeah, sure!" she said, grinning.

"But first, we have a barbecue with Team Asuma! You can join us, I'm sure they won't mind!' she said, and dragged Nina to the store.

* * *

"Well, who are you...?" Asuma asked, confused. Nina looked at him brightly. "I'm Nina Uzumaki! Wait a second... are you..." she trailed off, her eyes wide. "Asuma Sarutobi? No way! You're the same as in the pictures!" she shouted with her eyes sparkling.

"Pictures? Don't you see Asuma in the future, too?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously. Nina quickly corrected her expression, her hands held wide out and shaking in front of her. "No, I do, I do! It's just, I never met him... in person?" she supplied lamely. They seemed suspicious but satisfied with her answer, and dug into their meal.

"Come to think of it, how did you end up with Sai when you travelled back in time? Did you look for him specifically?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Eh, well, that is..." she trailed off.

/Flashback Start!/

With a sob, Nina activated the scroll in her hands. It expanded, and then a _whoosh_ing sound was heard as she travelled back in time. She was knocked out from the transportation, and fell in a deep stupor for the next while.

Nina opened her eyes slowly. "Where am I...?" she wondered to herself, looking around. Spotting a mountain with the faces of the Hokage on them, she smiled. "I'm in Konoha of the past!" she resolved. "Although that mountain is missing a face..."

She was alert the moment she heard a twig snap near her, and turned around to see none other than Sai on his way to the Konoha hospital. Without thinking, she excitedly let out a "Sai-sensei!" before latching herself on him. She refused to let go, considering how she might not recognize anyone else. Sai seemed surprised, and asked a few questions. He quickly gave up after realizing that she wouldn't talk, and decided to continue on his way. To be honest, he had no idea who she was or how she knew him, but as long as she wasn't going to harm him, he pretty much ignored her.

He earned a few odd glances from the villagers as he walked through the village, but he ignored them too. Finally, he reached the hospital and noticed Naruto and a few chunins.

/Flashback End!/

"Um, I just found him..." she replied, sweatdropping. She had to admit, her actions at the time weren't exactly wise.

"Anyway, you're from the future, right? Do you know Kurenai's child?" Shikamaru pushed further. Nina smiled. "Yeah, I do! Haru-sensei is the jonin assigned to Team 6, my team. He's really skilled, and told us that he learned it from you!" she replied. Shikamaru smiled slightly, pleased.

"Hey, Shikamaru, leave the girl alone! We're here to eat!" Ino complained, and they all began eating once more after Shikamaru ceased his interrogation.

(...)

After their meal, Ino showed Nina around the city, with Nina commenting "Oh, it's so different!" and "I remember 'tou-san telling me about that!" every once in a while. By the time they were done their journey, Team 7 had returned.

Naruto waved to Nina while being supported by Sai. When they rushed over, Naruto scratched his head and admitted that he tripped over a log while chasing their enemy, and had broken his leg. Sakura had been able to fix it, but he was still feeling weak, at which point Sai decided to help him.

It was a successful mission overall, and they reported it to Tsunade before they ate a quick dinner at Ichiraku ramen (since Naruto was complaining) and Nina headed home with Sai.

**A/N Okay, I messed up the timing. I know that they only find out about Kurenai's child after Asuma's death. So just assume that Asuma told them, okay? I guess I'm still on introductions at this point, but I'll get to a basic plot by the next chapter (hopefully). Please continue to tell me what you think through reviews! I like feedback!**


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